What is the wedding tax? It is the price gouging of any service when it is provide to a wedding. But why is this a thing? Why does it exist? Why is it so annoying to young couples just trying to have a nice wedding on a budget? Why am I writing about this? Because I am a disgruntled and frustrated 25 year old just trying to marry my fiance without spending a small fortune. I could pay a nice down payment on a house for as much as this wedding is going to cost us. I mean, look at how insane the housing market is right now, I think a down payment on a house would be more beneficial than a wedding, but don’t tell my fiance that.
I fall into the category of people that likes to say “taxation is theft” every chance I get. So you might understand my dismay when a catering company offers the same food package to a business party for $1,000 less than they offer it to me for my wedding. I like to call this ‘the wedding tax’ because that is really what it is. I am being taxed by service providers, because they are servicing my wedding, and not my high school reunion. But here we are, just accepting this “first world problem” tragedy. Also, shoutout to Covid-19 for making things even more difficult when trying to book venues, and venders, with seating limitations and food shortages. It is a big mess.
One New Jersey lawmaker is trying to make things easier for brides and grooms who have been affected by covid and wedding planning. Erin Vogt with New Jersey 101.5 says “A proposed bipartisan measure would prevent New Jersey consumers from being price gouged while struggling to reschedule weddings and other events derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Read More: NJ lawmaker: Ban price gouging for weddings delayed by COVID-19 | https://nj1015.com/nj-lawmaker-ban-price-gouging-for-weddings-delayed-by-covid-19/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
This would prove helpful for couples affected by the pandemic. As nice as this would be for those people, it still does not tackle the issue of price gouging any wedding service.
The wedding service industry is weird for sure. There are people doing amazing work, but there are also people doing crappy work and there is a major price discrepancy. I am all for paying extra for things like photography and rings — as these things last forever — but there is no reason I should pay $55 per person for a retirement home version of chicken parm. I understand that prices are on the rise given the current climate of the world, but examples like that really push my buttons.
The sad reality is boils down to one of my favorite phrases “it is what it is”. In reality, you don’t need a wedding. It is a luxury. I fully believe that vendors have a right to charge whatever they want for their services, and people will pay it. I don’t need chicken parmesan at my wedding, and I don’t need some fancy ballroom. Those are just things that my fiance wants (lets continue to place blame on her) and I want her to have. Her happiness is worth what we end up spending in the long run, because it isn't about the money, it is about us committing our lives to each other. We live in a western culture that dramatizes everything, and weddings are a part of that. So if I am paying $55 for a retirement home meal, then that is ok because I and my wife and120 of our friends and family will get to celebrate us together. As annoying as it is to pay the wedding tax, the celebration (and all the target gift cards) is worth it.
